READING: 1 Chronicles 28-29
Sometimes the seemingly most simple statements in the Bible catch me off guard. Today has been one of those days. As David was commissioning his son Solomon to be the next king over Israel, he gave him this command: “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought” (1 Chron 28:9a). Solomon was to follow God with his whole being, knowing that the Lord knows him inside and out.
It’s the last phrase of this verse that catches my attention. I know intellectually that the Lord “searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought,” but I’ve not meditated enough on that truth. He knows my heart, my every want, my every thought. Now, that fact would not bother me if my every desire and thought were godly, honorable, pure, and others-centered. What bothers me about that truth is that my thoughts and desires don’t always go there.
What bothers me is that God knows my arrogance . . . my lusts . . . my bitterness . . . my ambition . . . my pride . . . my mental laziness . . . my sinful memories . . . my guilt . . . my idolatries . . . my dishonesty . . . my cravings . . . my jealousies . . . my emotional pain . . . my worries . . . my fears . . . my impatience . . . my sin . . . . I could write on and on. God searches my heart, and He finds all of that there.
What amazes me today, though, is that He loves me anyway.
ACTION STEPS:
- Thoroughly confess your heart to God today.
- Get someone to pray for you this prayer that David prayed for Solomon: “And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees.” (1 Chron 29:19a)
PRAYER: “God, please do give me wholehearted devotion to You. Thank You for Your faithfulness to me even when I struggle.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Chronicles 1-5